Inaugural Homegrown Harvest Festival Plants Seed for National Attention
(Along with River Road Farm and Commune, Marshall Rabil -- pictured -- and his team at Hubs Peanuts are spearheading the not-to-be-missed Homegrown Harvest Festival to benefit the Foodbank and The CROP Foundation. Photo credit: Kyle LaFerriere Photography) By Marisa...
My Lunch with Will Bland..and Cliff Hayes and Alex Angelos
(SUNNY SIDE UP: Will Bland at Pancakes-N-Things. Photo by Joel Rubin. ) By Joel Rubin I just had to meet Will Bland. After reading Larry Rubama’s profile of the Princess Anne High (International Baccalaureate Academy) grad in the newspaper, I was anxious to learn how...
Hampton Roads Breweries Sweep Coveted Best in Show
(Benchtop Brewing Company wins 2023 Virginia Craft Beer Cup) By Jeff Maisey Independent craft breweries from Hampton Roads had an impressive showing at the 2023 Virginia Craft Beer Cup Awards ceremony by sweeping the Best in Show category reflecting the top three...
The $42,000 Barbie
(“Barbie” #1 Model in Original Dressed-Box With Early Costumes, Courtesy of Theriault’s By Jeff Maisey Barbie-mania has expanded beyond the movie theaters and inspired Barbie themed parties and other dress-in-pink events. But that’s not all. Taking things to a higher...
Norfolk Funds The Arts
Twenty-eight local arts organizations received funding support from the City of Norfolk Arts Commission. The Commission increased its support for the new fiscal year. “We are thankful that Norfolk Arts was awarded $300,000, up from $220,000, for the first time in...
ESSAY: Bites of the Big Apple
Words & Photo by Tom Robotham One can’t paint New York as it is, but rather as it is felt. - Georgia O’Keeffe Last month in this space, I wrote about what I call the resonance of place: the vibrations in your very soul that you feel at the mere mention of a...
ESSAY: The Forgotten Borough
By Tom Robotham There are places I remember / All my life, though some have changed. – John Lennon Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about places that hold deep meaning for me: Manhattan; Paris; Leicester, England, birthplace of my paternal grandfather; parts of...
The Virginia Arts Festival Honors a Norfolk Jewel: Elbert Watson
Elbert Watson (center) in a photo by Jack Mitchell. “Three Black Kings”: Dudley Williams as Martin Luther King, Jr., Elbert Watson as Balthazar and Clive Thompson as King Solomon dance in Alvin Ailey’s paean to the three historic figures. The work was set to the last...
ESSAY: Distorting History
By Tom Robotham Last month, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill banning public-college courses that “distort” historical events. When I read this news, I couldn’t help noting the irony. The American South, after all, has a very long track record of distorting...
GRC and TWBW Offer Lessons in How Non-Profits Can Help Each Other
By Joel Rubin A canoe and a Bevin’s Skiff look remarkably alike, but you row a skiff, you paddle a canoe. So says Tom Brandl, US Naval Academy grad, retired Marine Colonel, eight consecutive year summer student at a renowned boatbuilding school in Brooklin, Maine and...
Symbolism Abounds in Chrysler Exhibition
Matt Eich (American, b. 1986), Fire hose baptism, Newport News, Virginia (from the series “The Invisible Yoke, Volume III: The Seven Cities”), 2013 Archival pigment print, The Do Good Fund, Inc., 2020–5 © Matt Eich By Jerome Langston “I like curating photography...
Details About Possibilities of Paper
Roberto Benavidez, Bosch Beast No. 4, 2017. Paper, paperboard, glue, crepe paper, and wire, 36 x 22 x 12”. (Photo by Echard Wheeler) By Betsy DiJulio In the minds and hands of 13 artists, lowly paper is elevated. Generally thought of as a support for other media or...
Feast Festively on Beethoven’s Bounty
(Piano soloist Orli Shaham) By Montague Gammon III The Virginia Symphony opens its 2023-24 Season with a Beethoven Festival whose bounties Music Director and concert conductor Eric Jacobsen twice likened to a “steak dinner with dessert,” a two course musical feast of...
Forward with Humble Pie’s Legacy
By Jeff Maisey Back in the early 1970s, Humble Pie was considered one of the best live rock n roll bands to experience as is evident on their “Rockin’ the Fillmore” double-album released in 1971. The English group was formed by Steve Marriott (vocals, Small Faces)...
Conceptual End of Massive Resistance installation is impressive
By Betsy DiJulio From the Berlin Wall to the US-Mexico Border Wall, the West Bank Wall and even the conceptual “fourth wall” in theatre, walls, often steeped in controversy, divide, barricade, contain, and, conversely, keep out. But in 1979, Maya Lin, then a...
A Rare Look at Collectors’ Artwork
(Swoon, Thalassa, 2012. Screenprint, coffee stain, hand painting on paper, 120 x 84 in. Collection of the Waldo Family. Photo by Echard Wheeler) By Betsy DiJulio With Collector’s Edition, MOCA set out to craft a colorful, summery, and celebratory exhibition. But what...
MUSIC: Champagne to Flow at Funk Fest
By Jeff Maisey “I’m going to make you a star one day.” A young teenaged Evelyn King was cleaning the offices of Philadelphia International Records headquarters. She came from a family of entertainers, joined her first local R&B group in Philly at age 14, and...
Koz Brings Summer Horns to Norfolk Jazz Festival
By Jeff Maisey Grammy-winning smooth jazz saxophonist Dave Koz is no stranger to Hampton Roads. For a decade and counting, Koz & Friends have performed their annual Christmas show at the Ferguson Center in Newport News. On Saturday, August 19, Koz returns to the...
Demons Respond to Current Moment in Time
By Jeff Maisey Norfolk hard-edge punk rock band Demons will unleash its new full-length album, “Under the Western Heel,” with a big stage performance August 12 at The NorVa. Previously, the quartet, comprised of Zach Gehring (vocals/guitar), Chris Matthews...
THEATER: Escape to Margaritaville
(The cast from Little Theatre of Virginia Beach’s “Margaritaville.” Photo by Joshua Stubbs. By Jim Roberts Jimmy Buffett’s not touring this summer, but Hampton Roads’ “Parrotheads” can experience the next best thing when the Little Theater of Virginia Beach presents...
REVIEW: Crudo Nudo is a Delight
(A vegan’s dream come true dish. Photo courtesy of Crudo Nudo.) By Betsy DiJulio Sadly, I was late to the Crudo Nudo party. Until recently, I was under the mistaken impression that the storefront restaurant, open for four years, was charcuterie-heavy with little to...
DINING: Comforts of Ireland
(Robert McGregor Wallace, the general manager at Grace O’Malley’s, displays the house-made fish and chips. The Scotland native said, “That’s the real thing.”) Local pubs serve fish and chips and other traditional dishes By Jim Roberts There may be a friendly rivalry...
Chef Jae in Your Kitchen
(Jae Sinnett prepares everything from scratch in your kitchen. Photo by Mark Robbins By Jeff Maisey Let’s say you enjoy the good things in life and within your social circle are likeminded friends who equally appreciate the sounds of jazz, savor a select bottle of...
Twin Restaurant Weeks
(Restaurant Week is a great way to explore creative culinary creations at Mermaid Winery on Shore Drive. Photo courtesy of Mermaid Winery.) By Jeff Maisey Restaurant Weeks serve as a promotion for dining establishments during what would otherwise be a slow period and...
Benchtop Brewing Wins 2021 Golden Tap Award
(Benchtop Brewing celebrates its 3rd Golden Tap Award) Staff Report Norfolk’s Benchtop Brewing Company took home 10 medals and earned the most cumulative points to make it Veer Magazine’s 2021 Golden Tap Awards overall winner. Gold, silver and bronze medals were...
TRAVEL & DRINK: Sixteen Days in Belgium
(Wife and husband beer writers Diane Catanzaro and Chris Jones at Cafe Den Obelix in Hall, Belgium. Photo by Kate Keese.) By Diane Catanzaro and Chris Jones When you’re sitting there in your silk upholstered chair and thinking about your next beer-focused “Vayca,”...
Get a Taste of Smithfield at Red Point Taphouse
A welcoming sign in Smithfield: (L-R) Nick Hess, Julie Hess and Tim Ryan. Photo by Diane Catanzaro By Chris Jones and Diane Catanzaro Farm-to-table dining AND craft beer brewed on premises in a small-town historic building? Yes, please! If this sounds good to...
Prepare for 757 Battle of the Beers
The Garage Brewery won the last Battle of the Beers event. Photo by Eye of the Storm Photography courtesy of Beach Ambassadors. By Jeremy Bender More than 30 regional breweries will vie for this year’s 757 Battle of the Beers crown. The event is held on the grounds...
Suffolk Surprises with Superb Suds at Nansemond Brewing Station
(Sample a variety of beer styles in scenic downtown Suffolk at Nansemond Brewing Station. Photo courtesy of the brewery.) By Diane Catanzaro and Chris Jones Locals may know the Nansemond River, that the Nansemond Native American tribe lived along the river, or that...
Still Tasty After All These Years
TASTE OF SUCCESS: (L-R) Peter and Jon Pruden have enhanced and expanded the specialty gourmet food brand known for its delicious sandwiches, prepared food items, and spot-on wine selection By Marisa Marsey As nightmarish as the past year and a half was, Hampton Roads...
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